1966 Atlanta Braves season
Ernie Johnson, Milo Hamilton, Dizzy Dean ) | ||
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The 1966 Atlanta Braves season was the first for the franchise in Atlanta, and 96th overall, following their relocation from
Offseason
- November 29, 1965: Jesse Gonder was drafted from the Braves by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1965 rule 5 draft.[2]
- January 29, 1966: Tom Seaver was drafted by the Braves in the secondary phase of the 1966 Major League Baseball draft, but the pick was voided.[3]
Regular season
- July 3, 1966: Tony Cloninger became the first National League player—and, as of 2022, the only pitcher—to hit two grand slams in one game.[4]
- September 11, 1966: Rookie pitcher Pat Jarvis of the Braves became the first of 5,714 strikeout victims of Nolan Ryan's career.[5]
Opening day
The Atlanta Braves' first-ever game was played at home, at
Starting lineup
29 | Felipe Alou | CF |
41 | Eddie Mathews | 3B |
44 | Hank Aaron | RF |
43 | Rico Carty | LF |
15 | Joe Torre | C |
19 | Denis Menke | SS |
9 | Lee Thomas | 1B |
2 | Frank Bolling | 2B |
40 | Tony Cloninger | P |
Season standings
National League | W
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L
|
Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Los Angeles Dodgers | 95 | 67 | 0.586 | — | 53–28 | 42–39 |
San Francisco Giants | 93 | 68 | 0.578 | 1½ | 47–34 | 46–34 |
Pittsburgh Pirates | 92 | 70 | 0.568 | 3 | 46–35 | 46–35 |
Philadelphia Phillies | 87 | 75 | 0.537 | 8 | 48–33 | 39–42 |
Atlanta Braves | 85 | 77 | 0.525 | 10 | 43–38 | 42–39 |
St. Louis Cardinals | 83 | 79 | 0.512 | 12 | 43–38 | 40–41 |
Cincinnati Reds | 76 | 84 | 0.475 | 18 | 46–33 | 30–51 |
Houston Astros | 72 | 90 | 0.444 | 23 | 45–36 | 27–54 |
New York Mets | 66 | 95 | 0.410 | 28½ | 32–49 | 34–46 |
Chicago Cubs | 59 | 103 | 0.364 | 36 | 32–49 | 27–54 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] | |||||||||||||||
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Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | NYM | PHI | PIT | SF | STL | |||||
Atlanta | — | 7–11 | 10–8 | 14–4–1 | 7–11 | 14–4 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 8–10 | 7–11 | |||||
Chicago | 11–7 | — | 6–12 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 5–13 | 6–12 | 6–12 | 4–14 | |||||
Cincinnati | 8–10 | 12–6 | — | 4–14 | 6–12 | 10–7 | 10–8 | 8–10 | 7–10 | 11–7 | |||||
Houston | 4–14–1 | 13–5 | 14–4 | — | 7–11 | 7–11 | 7–11 | 4–14 | 6–12 | 10–8 | |||||
Los Angeles | 11–7 | 10–8 | 12–6 | 11–7 | — | 12–6 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 10–8 | |||||
New York | 4–14 | 10–8 | 7–10 | 11–7 | 6–12 | — | 7–11 | 5–13 | 9–9 | 7–11 | |||||
Philadelphia | 7-11 | 13–5 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 7–11 | 11–7 | — | 10–8 | 10–8 | 10–8 | |||||
Pittsburgh | 11–7 | 12–6 | 10–8 | 14–4 | 9–9 | 13–5 | 8–10 | — | 7–11 | 8–10 | |||||
San Francisco | 10–8 | 12–6 | 10–7 | 12–6 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 11–7 | — | 12–6 | |||||
St. Louis | 11–7 | 14–4 | 7–11 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 6–12 | — |
Front-office and managerial turnover
The Braves' first year in Atlanta featured an unusual amount of management churn in both the front office and dugout. On June 28, it was announced that
On August 9, with the Braves still mired in the second division at 52–59 (.468), 12+1⁄2 games behind and in seventh place,[11] fourth-year skipper Bragan was dismissed and replaced by bench coach Billy Hitchcock,[12][13] like Richards a former teammate of McHale's with the Detroit Tigers. Hitchcock's hiring would pull the Braves out of their tailspin, and they won 33 of 51 games (.647), advancing to fifth place. But Richards was indeed destined to rise within the Atlanta organization. On August 31, he was named director of player personnel at both the Major and minor-league levels, effectively becoming general manager of baseball operations without the formal title, which McHale temporarily retained.[14] Four months later, McHale resigned from the Braves to join the office of Commissioner of Baseball William Eckert, and on January 11, 1967, Richards was formally named Braves' general manager. He would serve in the post through June 1, 1972.[15]
National transactions
- April 4, 1966: Marty Keough was purchased by the Braves from the Cincinnati Reds.[16]
- April 5, 1966: Frank Thomas was placed on waivers by the Braves.[17]
- April 28, 1966: Billy Cowan was traded by the Braves to the Chicago Cubs for future Braves manager Bobby Cox and cash.[18]
- May 29, 1966: Marty Keough was traded by the Braves to the Chicago Cubs for John Herrnstein. Arnold Earley was also purchased.[19]
- June 7, 1966: Al Santorini was drafted by the Braves in the 1st round (11th pick) of the 1966 Major League Baseball draft.[20]
Roster
1966 Atlanta Braves | |||||||||
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Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
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Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches |
Player stats
Batting
Starters by position
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
C | Joe Torre | 148 | 546 | 172 | .315 | 36 | 101 |
1B | Felipe Alou | 154 | 666 | 218 | .327 | 31 | 74 |
2B | Woody Woodward | 144 | 455 | 120 | .264 | 0 | 43 |
SS | Denis Menke | 138 | 454 | 114 | .251 | 15 | 60 |
3B | Eddie Mathews | 134 | 452 | 113 | .250 | 16 | 53 |
LF | Rico Carty | 151 | 521 | 170 | .326 | 15 | 76 |
CF | Mack Jones | 118 | 417 | 110 | .264 | 23 | 66 |
RF | Hank Aaron | 158 | 603 | 168 | .279 | 44 | 127 |
Other batters
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Frank Bolling | 75 | 227 | 48 | .211 | 1 | 18 |
Gene Oliver | 76 | 191 | 37 | .194 | 8 | 24 |
Gary Geiger | 78 | 126 | 33 | .262 | 4 | 10 |
Lee Thomas | 39 | 126 | 25 | .198 | 6 | 15 |
Mike de la Hoz | 71 | 110 | 24 | .218 | 2 | 7 |
Félix Millán | 37 | 91 | 25 | .275 | 0 | 5 |
Ty Cline | 42 | 71 | 18 | .254 | 0 | 6 |
Sandy Alomar Sr. | 31 | 44 | 4 | .091 | 0 | 2 |
John Herrnstein | 17 | 18 | 4 | .222 | 0 | 1 |
Marty Keough | 17 | 17 | 1 | .059 | 0 | 1 |
Lee Bales | 12 | 16 | 1 | .063 | 0 | 0 |
Bill Robinson | 6 | 11 | 3 | .273 | 0 | 3 |
George Kopacz | 6 | 9 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Ed Sadowski | 3 | 9 | 1 | .111 | 0 | 1 |
Adrian Garrett | 4 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
Pitching
Starting pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tony Cloninger | 39 | 257.2 | 14 | 11 | 4.12 | 178 |
Ken Johnson | 32 | 215.2 | 14 | 8 | 3.30 | 105 |
Denny Lemaster | 27 | 171.0 | 11 | 8 | 3.74 | 139 |
Wade Blasingame | 16 | 67.2 | 3 | 7 | 5.32 | 34 |
Pat Jarvis | 10 | 62.1 | 6 | 2 | 2.31 | 41 |
Joey Jay | 9 | 29.2 | 0 | 4 | 7.89 | 19 |
Ron Reed | 2 | 8.1 | 1 | 1 | 2.16 | 6 |
Charlie Vaughan | 1 | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 2.57 | 6 |
Other pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dick Kelley | 20 | 81.0 | 7 | 5 | 3.22 | 50 |
Hank Fischer | 14 | 48.1 | 2 | 3 | 3.91 | 22 |
Don Schwall | 11 | 45.1 | 3 | 3 | 4.37 | 27 |
Relief pitchers
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Clay Carroll | 73 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 2.37 | 67 |
Chi-Chi Olivo | 47 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 4.23 | 41 |
Ted Abernathy | 38 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3.86 | 42 |
Phil Niekro | 28 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4.11 | 17 |
Billy O'Dell | 24 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 2.40 | 20 |
Arnold Umbach | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3.10 | 23 |
Jay Ritchie | 22 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4.08 | 33 |
Dan Schneider | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.42 | 11 |
Herb Hippauf | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13.50 | 1 |
Cecil Upshaw | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 2 |
Farm system
Level | Team | League | Manager |
---|---|---|---|
AAA | Richmond Braves | International League | Bill Adair |
AA | Austin Braves | Texas League | Hub Kittle |
A
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Kinston Eagles | Carolina League | Andy Pafko |
A
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West Palm Beach Braves | Florida State League | Buddy Hicks |
A
|
Yakima Braves
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Northwest League | Eddie Haas |
Rookie
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GCL Braves
|
Gulf Coast League
|
Tom Saffell |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Austin
Notes
- ^ a b "Bartholomay claims vindication as Braves pass million and half". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. September 29, 1966. p. 17, part 2.
- ^ Jesse Gonder at Baseball Reference
- ^ Tom Seaver at Baseball Reference
- ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
- ISBN 978-1-55365-507-7
- ^ a b c [1]Retrosheet box score: 1966-4-12
- ^ Thisted, Red (April 13, 1966). "Braves' Atlanta debut a 3-2 flop". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 2, part 2.
- ^ Kuechele, Oliver E. (April 13, 1966). "Stargell's home run in 13th ruins Braves' Dixie debut". Milwaukee Journal. p. 2, part 18.
- ^ a b "Braves defeated in Atlanta debut". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. April 13, 1966. p. 33.
- ^ The Associated Press, June 26, 1966
- ^ "Baseball in a nutshell". Milwaukee Sentinel. August 9, 1966. p. 2, part 2.
- ^ "Hitchcock plans changes". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. August 10, 1966. p. 2, part 2.
- ^ Wolf, Bob (August 10, 1966). "'Impulsive' best describes brash Bobby; orange drink costs him $100 and job". Milwaukee Journal. p. 2, part 21.
- ^ [3]United Press International August 31, 1966
- ^ [4]Baseball America Executive Database
- ^ Marty Keough at Baseball Reference
- ^ Frank Thomas is place on waivers
- ^ Bobby Cox at Baseball Reference
- ^ Cubs, Atlanta trade again
- ^ Al Santorini at Baseball-Reference
References
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
- 1966 Atlanta Braves season at Baseball Reference